Status: 14.12.2021 8:12 a.m.
Just a few weeks ago, it looked like the travel industry was making a comeback. Now the new Corona variant Omikron and travel restrictions dampen the desire for vacation in the distance.
Where can you still travel carefree? More and more citizens are asking themselves this in view of the increasing number of new corona infections and new (partial) lockdowns in several countries. Some states like Israel, Australia and Japan have closed their borders again. Other countries have tightened entry requirements. Austria has reintroduced a lockdown and only opens its ski slopes to vaccinated and convalescent people. Even liberal Switzerland requires all immigrants, including those who have been vaccinated, to pass a negative PCR test. And the World Health Organization (WHO) is currently advising people over the age of 60 not to travel.
Customers react unsettled. “The uncertainty as to how the situation will develop leads to a noticeable reluctance to make booking decisions,” said Norbert Fiebig, President of the German travel association DRV. He does not expect a significant recovery in demand until the second quarter of 2022. The travel analysis company TDA predicts a hard winter for the industry. The experts know that there was a slight downward trend in new bookings as early as the first two weeks of November. It is foreseeable that the high number of corona infections and Omikron will further slow down demand for the winter months.
Easyjet sees the first skid marks
Airlines are reporting the first negative effects of travel restrictions. The British low-cost airline Easyjet recently reported a slight decline in demand. “In the case of short-term bookings, we see cancellations on a few routes,” said a Lufthansa spokesman.
Tour operators are still spreading optimism. Two weeks ago, TUI Germany boss Stefan Baumert cheered over the “winter season that has taken off”. Many vacation spots that were taken out of the program a year ago can now be booked again and are in high demand. The largest German tour operator assumed that the demand for air travel during the Christmas holidays was so high that it increased its offer. The airline TUIfly is offering 36,000 additional seats – mainly for flights to the Canary Islands, but also to beach destinations in Portugal and Cape Verde.
Canary Islands, Caribbean and Cape Verde are particularly popular
According to TUI, classic destinations such as the Canary Islands are currently at the forefront in the winter travel business. Cape Verde, the Maldives, the Seychelles, Mauritius, the Dominican Republic and the United Arab Emirates such as Dubai are also in demand. Almost as many people would travel to the Maldives as there was before the pandemic, says Baumert. TUI still sees catch-up effects in Egypt. The tour operator Alltours has determined similar customer preferences. Currently, “the Canary Islands, the Dominican Republic and the Maldives are doing well,” said a company spokesman tagesschau.de.
The Cologne travel group DER Touristic, a subsidiary of Rewe, also recently reported high demand: At the end of October, bookings for the popular winter destination Egypt were twice as high as in 2018 before the pandemic, it said. Travel to the Canary Islands and the Maldives are also very popular. Even with travel agencies, long-distance travel destinations in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean are in vogue in this cold, wet season. They reported a strong demand in the “DomRep”, Cuba and individual dream resorts in the Maldives. Business in South Africa, on the other hand, has collapsed.
Fears about the ski vacation
Those who prefer to travel within Europe now will have a hard time. The ski season threatens to be a tremendous game. Austria imposed a lockdown until mid-December. The tourism industry in the Alpine republic is still hoping that the season can start after that. It is clear, however, that unvaccinated people are probably not allowed into mountain huts and cable car gondolas. If you want to go on holiday in Austria, you need proof of vaccination or convalescence for hotels, restaurants, ski lifts and other cultural institutions. The 2G rule also applies to children aged twelve and over.
An alternative could be a skiing holiday in Switzerland. The Swiss are much more relaxed. They allow all foreigners to ski on the slopes. However, since last weekend you have to show a negative PCR test when entering the country, even if you are vaccinated. Another rapid antigen test must then be carried out three to four days after entry. This can quickly become expensive for families with children, especially since Switzerland is already considered a very expensive travel destination. The Swiss franc has recently appreciated significantly against the euro.
Bavaria’s ski slopes only for those who have been vaccinated
Skiing holidays in Germany are cheaper. But whether this is possible remains uncertain. Bavaria has imposed tough restrictions because of the high number of new corona infections. 2G + is now required for cable cars. The cable car industry reacted horrified and spoke of a “death blow”. Although the Zugspitze started the ski season under 2G rules two and a half weeks ago, there was no big rush. Many skiers have a queasy feeling when the hospitals down in the valley are overcrowded with corona patients.
TUI warns that a swan song for the ski holiday would still be premature. The travel company is confident that the winter season can take place in Austria. The season doesn’t really start until after Christmas. “The Austrian winter destinations are still well booked, as is Switzerland,” said TUI two weeks ago.
Early bookers can still rebook or cancel
If the risk is too great for you, you can rebook relatively flexibly – provided that you have already booked the trip for a long time. TUI continues to offer the “Flex tariff”: Customers can rebook or cancel for a surcharge up to two weeks before the start of their trip. Alltours is even more accommodating: the “Flexible booking” campaign will be extended until the 2022 summer season. If you book a classic trip by the end of January for the period up to the end of April, you can cancel or change your booking free of charge up to seven days before departure. From May onwards, you can change your booking up to 14 days before departure. For last-minute bookers, however, rebooking is much more difficult and expensive.
If the Federal Foreign Office issues a travel warning for a high-risk or virus variant area or if the tour operator cannot carry out the trip as agreed, customers should generally cancel free of charge. However, if you book a trip, although restrictions were already foreseeable, you usually don’t get any money back, say consumer advocates. Individual travelers in particular have significantly fewer rights than package travelers.